“Mary Martin as Peter Pan in the national televised play in the 1950s. (Photo by NBC)

NBC announced its next live musical will be “Peter Pan,” airing Dec. 4, 2014, with the cast so far unknown but with award-winning executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron signed to produce.

On the ratings strength of the network’s “The Sound of Music Live!” it was clear NBC would continue the live musical theater tradition. But this next selection is especially significant.

The choice of James M. Barrie’s classic musical is laden with nostalgia for Baby boomers and the TV industry itself, notably NBC. The original 1954 Broadway stage production of the musical starred Mary Martin as Peter and Cyril Richard as Captain Hook.

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.